Beef and Wild Rice Stroganoff Soup

I had all of the ingredients to make Beef Stroganoff except the egg noodles, so I thought—why not soup?! This recipe is easy and though I made it in the crock pot, you could easily simmer on the stove as well. And another Budget Friendly Fix—the stew meat was on sale for $2.99/lb and the 8 oz mushroom package was $1.99! I hope you and your family enjoy this warm hearty soup on yet another snowy Minnesota day…

Beef and Wild Rice Stroganoff Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb stew meat, cut into small chunks

½ cup uncooked wild rice

8 oz baby bella, crimini mushrooms, chopped

1 large onion, chopped fine

1 shallot, minced

½ cup carrot, chopped small

4 stalks celery, chopped small

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups beef or vegetable stock

¼ cup flour

Salt and pepper

Fresh thyme, rosemary, oregano

1 cup half and half, or heavy cream

Sour cream or yogurt to garnish, if desired

Preparation:

Place your chopped vegetables and mushrooms in the crock pot with 3 Tbsps of olive oil. Cover and cook on high while you prepare the other ingredients. Mince the garlic and shallots and add to the crock.

Place the wild rice in a bowl and cover with 2 cups of warm water. Stir and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Then drain and discard the water.

Cut your stew meat into small, finger tip sized chunks. Trim fat as desired. In a small bowl, toss the meat with the flour and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Continue to toss until all of meat is well coated with the flour.

Add the meat to the vegetable mixture by the handful, leaving any excess flour in the bowl to discard. Stir together and then pour in the vegetable or beef stock. Stir in the drained wild rice. Add a sprig of rosemary, and oregano and a small bunch of thyme, or a ½ tsp of each dried. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.

Now you have a couple of serving options: Uncover and allow the soup to cool down for a while. (Pour into a big bowl for faster cooling.) Then add 1 cup of half and half and 1 cup of sour cream. OR you can finish this at the table as below:

Remove the cover and ladle into bowls. When the soup has cooled slightly, stir 2 Tbsps of half and half into each serving.  You may add more if you wish. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and serve with some crusty bread.

This soup will serve a family of 6 for dinner or 8 for lunch--and it makes great leftovers ;)

Thanks for reading—

Nikki

Budget Friendly Fixes: Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole

Welcome to the first post in my new segment: Budget Friendly Fixes.  I will be referring to these recipes as my BFFs! These are the kinds of recipes for those end of the day “Oh yea…dinner…” moments.  Using things you can find at the bottom of your refrigerator and back of your pantry, this recipe is quick, cheap, and tasty. These recipes are also very substitute-able. Let me know what you find to use in your fridge!

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Stove-top Casserole

Have extra cheese? Use it! Spinach instead of broccoli? Hooray! In my fridge, I found a turkey sausage link to use, but I think ham would be delicious! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked rice

2 cups chicken stock

¾ cup skim milk

2/3 cup shredded cheese

¼ cup light sour cream

2 green onions, chopped

1 cup broccoli, chopped

1 cooked sausage link, cubed small

Pinch of garlic powder and black pepper

Preparation:

In a saucepan, bring rice and broth to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and cook following the package directions.  Set your timer for 3 minutes less than the rice’s instructed cooking time. In a microwave safe dish, steam chopped broccoli with 1 cup of water, covered for 2 minutes in the microwave. Drain the water and combine the cubed cooked meat, broccoli and chopped green onions.

When the timer goes off, quickly pour the broccoli meat mixture on top of the cooking rice. Recover and cook for the remaining 3 minutes.  No need to stir. When the rice has finished cooking the three minutes, it may be a bit firm, but that is fine. Pour in the milk. Increase the heat to medium high. Stir while the milk bubbles and continue to cook until it thickens—about 1-2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cheese.  Add the garlic powder and black pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the light sour cream.

Serve with fresh fruit and some crackers and you have a quick and kid friendly meal for four!

As always, thanks for reading!

Nikki

Year Two!

Hello Readers!

This week was the second anniversary of The Finch’s Nest! Thank you so much for your support! I took a little break this fall, but of course, all the while I was cooking, eating and planning amazing fun recipes to post here. I can’t wait to share more recipes with you! These are some of the things to come:

Thanks again!

-Nikki

Apples for Dinner Party

We had a ton of apples and I decided to throw together a quick apple themed dinner using the things we had around the house. And Noam and Kristin brought a salad with a cider vinaigrette. Perfect!  I decided it would be fun to share the menu with you. Consider a theme for your next get-together! Happy Fall!

Wine: Hauser’s Grand Reserve Apple Wine from Bayfield, WI

Salad: Noam’s Toasted Almond Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Appetizer: Whiskey Cheese Fondue

                1 cup wine, 12 oz. shredded swiss and gruyere cheese, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 1/4 cup whiskey

                

In your fondue pot, heat the wine until it begins to bubble. Combine the cheese and cornstarch. Add the cheese in four handfuls. Stir each handful in until it is completely melted. When all of the cheese is melted and combined, stir in the whiskey. Keep over low heat while eating. Serve with chunked apples, and fresh sourdough bread. Spice it up with cayenne pepper, parsley, or green chilis! 

Main Course: Caramelized Onion Butternut Squash Soup with Apples

                2 Butternut squash, 6 small apples, 2 purple+1 yellow onion, garlic, 4 cups chicken broth, spices, 1 bottle of Crispin hard cider

Remove the seeds and strings from two medium butternut squash. Roast the squash (4 halves) for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Caramelize 2 large purple and 1 large yellow onion with 3 Tbsp of butter for 25 minutes. Add 3 cloves crushed garlic. Pour in a 12oz bottle of Crispin cider and cook down for 3 minutes on high heat. Peel, core and dice 6 small apples. Add 4 cups of chicken broth, pepper and salt. Scoop the roasted squash into the soup and puree with an immersion blender.  Add a pinch of allspice and curry powder. Top with cream, chopped fresh parsley and roasted pumpkin seeds.

Dessert: Omenapiiraka- Finnish Apple Pie

Have a great Wednesday!

-Nikki

Omenapiirakka: Finnish Apple Pie

Apples, apples and more apples! After a successful day of apple picking with Emily and Joe this weekend, we had apples to spare. Last night we hosted Noam and Kristin for an apple themed dinner party to use some up and for dessert I made this amazingly easy apple pie. 

This is another rustic-style Finnish pie with a free-form crust. Based on Bea Ojakangas’ recipe from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book, this pie whips together in about 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of baking! I hope you enjoy this easy Finnish dessert.

Omenapiirakka

Crust:

1 ¼ cup white whole-wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

Pinch of ground allspice and cardamon

1 stick of cold butter, cubed

1 cup heavy cream

Filling:

5-6 small tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced ¼ inch thick

½ tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp flour

¼ cup cane sugar

Dash of salt

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Combine the flours, baking powder and spices. Cut the cold butter into the flour until it is well-combined and crumbly. Pour in the heavy cream and form into a ball. Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes. Peel and slice the apples and mix with the remaining ingredients.

On a large greased baking sheet, roll out the dough into a large square. Cut to straighten the edges. Pour the apples into the center of the dough square and fold the sides up and over about 1 inch. Using the scrapes, roll out and cut to make a lattice pattern on the top of the exposed apples in the center of the pie.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Make sure to let the pie cool. Then cut into 9 squares. Top with fresh whipped cream and caramel sauce, or drop a dollop of ice cream on the side! Enjoy!

-Nikki

A Squash Adventure: Acorn Squash Puree

While visiting my buddy AnnaJean, I noticed she had some local squash on her counter.  So at her request, I am posting this recipe for Acorn Squash Puree. It is super yummy for kids and adults alike! Unfortunately I didn’t take any photos the last time I made it, but we have all seen acorn squash before. So here is the next installment in our Squash Adventure!

Exhibit B: Acorn Squash—shaped like an acorn, the rind is thick and dark green and the inside is a soft orange color that deepens when it is cooked. It has a very mild flavor, and the flesh is very similar in texture to sweet potato that is slightly undercooked.  It keeps on the counter for a LONG time. As long as it is still firm and without mold you can cook it up! It is readily available at most supermarkets and farmer’s markets.

I have had this squash a variety of ways. When I think of fall squash, this is the one I picture on the plate—cut in half, bright orange and beautiful, drizzled with maple syrup and sprinkle with pecans.  But this is also really great mashed into a puree as a side dish. It also makes this squash choice more friendly for those who do not like the consistency of plain squash. So here is a really easy recipe you can whip up in a flash!

Acorn Squash Puree

1 acorn squash

3 Tbsp maple syrup

¼ cup milk

1 Tbsp butter

Salt

Pinch of cinnamon

Brown sugar, to top with if desired

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Score the squash with a knife into squares. Brush the squash with maple syrup. Bake for 45min to 60 minutes, until the squash is soft.

Scoop out the flesh into a glass bowl. With a handheld mixer or immersion blender puree the flesh with the remaining ingredients. You may need to add a bit more milk if it isn’t smoothing to your preference. Top with brown sugar and more butter if desired. This puree may also be frozen and would make a yummy baby food choice for your little one!

Enjoy!

-Nikki

A Squash Adventure: Spaghetti Squash Casserole with Pesto

At the farmer’s market this weekend you might have noticed we are in squash heaven. Goodbye berries—hello winter foods. Growing up squash was NOT something that my siblings or I looked forward to and mostly it was because of the texture.  I have come to realize that the joys of the squash are really in the preparation.  I’ve decided to try every squash I can get my hands on this year—there are so many varieties to choose from!

Exhibit A: Spaghetti Squash: a light yellow oval shaped squash that is widely available. It has a yellow flesh that becomes stringy when heated, with strings about the size of thin spaghetti pasta. It is mild in flavor with just a bit of squashiness—slightly sweet with a mildly earthy aftertaste.

Spaghetti squash is a really fun one and is so versatile! I’ve actually been cooking this guy for about a year and find it can be subbed for pasta in just about any dish, though I find its hint of sweetness pairs perfectly with pesto sauce.  This is a very low-cal, healthy recipe I’ve converted to a casserole. You can whip this up in a snap! I prefer to cook my squash in the microwave, but you can also roast it in the oven as well.  Let’s make dinner!

Spaghetti Squash Casserole with Pesto

Ingredients:

1 6-8 inch long spaghetti squash

¼ cup fresh pesto sauce: Sweet Basil Pesto Recipe

¾ cup 2% milk

1 tsp Italian herb blend

½ tsp salt

Pepper to taste

½ cup shredded asiago or parmesan cheese

6 stalks kale, chopped or 2 cups baby spinach

11/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds and mushy pulp. Cooking one half of the squash at a time, place the half cut-side down in I cup of water in a microwave safe glass pie plate. Microwave on high for 4 minutes cut-side down. Flip and microwave for 4 more minutes cut-side up, then turn over and microwave for 1-2 minutes more until it is soft to the touch. This steams the squash and it will be very hot when you remove it. Allow to sit until it is cool enough to handle. Repeat with the second half of the squash.

Meanwhile, cook the kale or spinach in salted water. I used kale today. I placed the kale in a sauce pan covered, and steamed with 1 cup of water for 3-5 minutes. Drain.

Scoop the cooled squash flesh out with a spoon, gently scraping the inside of the rind and dump into a glass bowl. Combine with the pesto, herbs, salt, milk and shredded asiago/parmesan cheese. Stir in the cooked chopped kale.

Scrap the squash mixture into a 9 x 13 glass or stone casserole dish. Top with the shredded cheese.Bake for 20-30 minutes until the sauce and cheese is bubbly.

This dish makes amazing leftovers--in fact, mine are reheating right now.... Let me know if you like it!

Thanks for reading,

-Nikki